This invention relates to an improved test tube holder that permits easy release of a test tube contained therein and also can be linked in continuous fashion to other similar test tube holders for relative pivoting and tilting.
A predecessor of the present test tube holder is shown in my copending application, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,924, which is incorporated herein by reference. The predecessor test tube holder is likewise capable of being linked together with other similar test tube holders in continuous fashion to permit relative pivoting and tilting of the test tube holders. In addition, the predecessor test tube holder as well as the present test tube holder can be employed in the automatic sampling system of U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,553 and both holders include a plastic adapter member that receives the test tube. However, in the predecessor test tube holder the adapter member is sized to snugly hold the test tube and it is difficult to control the amount of retention force applied by the plastic adapter against the periphery of the test tube. In addition, the test tube is fully enveloped by the adapter member of the predecessor test tube holder. Thus removal of the test tube from the predecessor test tube holder can occasionally be an arduous task.
Since the predecessor test tube holder is a reusable device wherein test tubes are repeatedly inserted into and withdrawn from the test tube holder, the facility with which a test tube can be inserted in the test tube holder and removed therefrom is a critical factor in assuring trouble-free usage of the test tube holder.
It is thus desirable to provide an improved test tube holder which permits easy insertion and removal of a test tube and which permits easy access to the inserted test tube to facilitate subsequent removal of the test tube from the test tube holder.